My unique muffling technique for harp explained!

[@88keysnoproblem]

I’m a newcomer to your channel and I love you already! I’m a pianist and fell in love with the harp after I accompanied a Debussy piece with a harpist. You ideas are great AND you’re entertaining! I’m practicing more to work on your technique ideas! Thank you a million!

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

Thanks Cathy, I'm very glad that you find help in my videos, harp should be quite easy for you as a pianist, maybe just the position would be tricky at first as the piano one is much more natural.

[@giuliarettore9505]

I actually learned the thumb dampening technique from Sylvain Blassel in London and I also use the technique of muffling single notes with the left hand using single fingers (have a look at my Spohr's Fantasy on KZbin). I've also seen Park Stickney and Marcella Carboni muffling in very creative and fantastic ways. I think Anna Loro firstly showed me how to muffle replacing single fingers in the left hand and then I saw Sylvain Blassel using it to solve the tricky passage in Spohr's Fantasy and I fell in love with it so that I cannot live without muffling anymore. Moreover I think the "muffling issue" is one of the reason that makes baroque music so hard to play on the classical harp for me, because I simply cannot hear all those bass notes ringing together and I really want to hear a clear bass line.

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

Well done! Yes, Spohr is taught with that horrible left hand étouffé passage, but it's much more effective, less tiring and much better sounding the way you play it with the muffling technique. Brava! 😃

[@mchlmcclllnd]

This was REALLY helpful! Your technique requires much more dexterity of the hands, but the resulting clarity is certainly worth the effort. Brava! You need to write about this and share with the harp world.

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

Thanks! Yes, I'll defintely think about it! No harp soups anymore!😉😆

[@EliShane]

Love this! Your videos are so helpful!

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

I'm very glad!

[@organist1982]

This is wonderful! Before I knew anything about harps, I didn't realize how lucky I was as a pianist that the dampers take care of all this for the player!

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

Haha yes lucky you! And with the harp you can use such cool effects to stop only some strings and let other harmonies ring, it's so much better than a piano😆😉

[@organist1982]

@@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470 True! The closest thing to that on a grand piano is the middle "sostenuto" pedal that allows whatever notes are held down when pressing it with the left foot to ring on while everything else can be played with articulation or pedaled independently of the ringing notes with the right foot.

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

@@organist1982 interesting to know!

[@dianegiorgi676]

Your videos are gamechangers!!!!! You always have such practical solutions to issues it seems no one else addresses!!! Keep'em coming!!! I can't wait to try this!!! GRAZIEEEE!!!!!

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

I'm so glad you find them useful!

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

...and let me know how it goes!

[@dianegiorgi676]

@@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470 I will!!!!!

[@togdochroise]

This is fantastic, thank you! The technique looks somewhat similar to the muffling Amy Turk (another harpist on KZbin, if you're not already familiar) uses in some of her playing. The left hand in her cover of "Stand By Me" is a really great example.

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

Yes I had a look again at Amy's "Stand by me" and she uses this technique, exactly! With such a minimalistic bass line it would be impossible to play without it 😀

[@NK-vj7ur]

I'll try this out! 🤔 I hope I will manage to do it, though.. !

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

You'll get it, it's worth the effort!💪💪🎇🎇

[@fairyfox5867]

ok, first few seconds and I see notes in a pot. Chiara, you gonna kill me one day :D

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

😂it's the soup!

[@fairyfox5867]

@@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470 i bet it tastes melodycious :D

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

@@fairyfox5867 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@miaramer]

That was so interesting Chiara! It's a completely different way of playing, I'd never heard of it before

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

Someone on facebook mentioned that it exists in the "Metodo per arpa" by Maria Grossi which I also used as technique book, but I don't remember that, I have to check!

[@jacquelinetouchie9218]

Did you make any exercise to help us? Those are fantastic suggestions but it was too fast. Would really appreciate more in-depth study of these techniques. Thank you

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

Will do it soon! It's hard to teach specifically, as I usually use it on the score and I've never really "studied" it...

[@lenarummelharfenmusik]

Wow! How would you muffle an Alberti bass? Can send you the sheet music if you like.

[@hmr28]

I second this one! Particularly when the chords jump around a bit.

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

Yes, send me the score please and I'll let you know! [e-mail]

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

@@hmr28 You can send me an example of what you mean, when the chords jump around I use the "brushing" technique (another topic of a future video possibly)

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

For the Alberti bass I just muffle with the "brushing" technique, aka 4th finger, only the bass

[@thegoodgeneral]

As a composer, I wish this was more standard among harpists! You're right, harp music is a little too often "soupy."

[@chiarapedrazzettiarpatelie6470]

I don't know why it's not taught...!